Microsemi bids $163M for White Electronic Designs

Chip maker Microsemi Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to pay about $163 million in cash for White Electronic Designs Corp., a company that supplies technology to the defense and aerospace industries.

Microsemi said it will offer White Electronic stockholders $7 per share, a 28 percent premium over the stock's closing price of $5.46 Monday. Minus the cash on White Electronic's balance sheet, the deal will cost Microsemi about $100 million, the company said.

Microsemi said the deal will give it access to technology that prevents tampering with weapons systems, a market the company says is "expanding rapidly as every major weapon system now requires this feature."